Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) says the rise in illicit fuel trade along with some entry and exit points of the country notably the Afloa border, has become a major concern and a threat to the revenue mobilization efforts of the government.

The Chief Executive of NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid says his outfit has been alerted on the happenings at the country’s eastern border.

The NPA, he stated, had not licensed any importer to bring fuel through the Aflao border and, therefore, urged the border officers to stop the importation of petroleum products by road.

Dr Abdul-Hamid said combating fuel smuggling is still a menace that denies the government of the right revenue.

He made these comments when he led the management of the Authority to tour the Aflao border to familiarize himself with illegal activities on the border.

“The NPA is an agency responsible for monitoring downstream petroleum industry and that combating fuel activities are central to what the Authority does,” he explained, noting that Ghana is the only country in the sub-region that consumes the highest quality of fuel.

Against this background, he said it was important to maintain such a feat and called for these activities to be tackled to the barest minimum.

Commenting on the development, Chairman of the Aflao Border Security Committee, Majeed Amandi, said unapproved entry points and routes on the Ghana-Togo borders were fueling criminal activities including fuel smuggling.

Mr Amandi, who doubles as the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority-Aflao Collection, indicated that the service was fighting the menace together with other security agencies as well as the NPA in a bid to intensify patrols and enhance efforts to combat the long-standing problem. 

The Assistant Commissioner noted that during patrol operations, they observed that illegal actors operated at midnight to avoid detection.

He described them as daring because they always found their way into the country’s borders and offloaded unwholesome petroleum products into the Ghanaian market.

He said this is also a result of the unavailability of special boats for patrols on the seas at night.

He said border security agencies needed working tools to combat the illicit trade.

The Volta Regional Manager of the NPA, Mr  Rasheed Dauda said he appreciated the collaboration with the security agencies at Aflao and pledged to work closely with them to arrest the criminals.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com